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Advice Category: Career Development

How Prof. Dee Boersma Works

Dee Boersma, Wadsworth Endowed Chair in Conservation Science and Director, Center for Ecosystem SentinelsDee Boersma

Department/Program: Biology
Research focus: Seabirds and Conservation

Known as the Jane Goodall of penguins, Boersma is, by all accounts, a force of nature. At age 22, she spent a year living on the uninhabited Galapagos Islands, studying penguins. Since then, she has become a highly distinguished researcher of seabirds. Her research focuses on the well-being of penguins and what they tell us about the state of our environment. Boersma has received more than a dozen awards for her work, including a UW Distinguished Teaching Award in 1993.

Work

Give us a one-word description of how you work:     

Smart.

How do you manage your to-dos?  

Often with lists.

What are your essential apps, software or tools?

There are few apps I enjoy.

Where do you most often work?

Outside.

How do you manage your time?

I save some for something I want to do.

What is your best time-saving shortcut?

I use a canned letter for students interested in graduate school that is long, detailed, and should help them think about if they need to go to graduate school and where they should consider applying.

Life

What are you currently reading for pleasure? 

The AARP magazine.

How do you recharge?    

I get away from apps, email and other technologies.

What’s your sleep routine like?   

I go to bed at 10:21 each night.

Inspiration

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?    

It doesn’t matter where you go to graduate school as long as it is a PAC-12, Big 10 or Ivy League School.

Who’s your support system?

My friends.

What pitfall do you consistently see students falling into?

Not focusing on the problem they are trying to solve. They get distracted by technology and do not spend time thinking.

What do your most successful students do?

They use their time productively and work smart.

How UW Works was inspired by LifeHacker’s How I Work. 

Did you enjoy this series? Check back Wednesdays during the Spring quarter for the latest mid-week motivation! While you wait, you can read more in this series, nominate a student or professor to be featured, or answer the questions yourself! (Students should answer the questions via this form; faculty should use this form. If you prefer to answer the questions over email, drop us a line at gradnews@uw.edu). 

How Prof. Shawn Wong Works

Shawn Wong

Shawn Wong, Professor
Department/program: English and Comparative Literature, Cinema and Media
Research focus: Asian American literature, fiction, screenwriting, creative writing

Professor Shawn Wong has taught around the globe — at Universität Tübingen (Germany), Jean Moulin Université (Lyon, France), University of Ljubljana (Slovenia) and at the University of Washington Rome Center (Italy). He’s been honored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Society of Professional Journalists. He is the author of several anthologies and novels; one of his novels, American Knees, was made into a movie in 2013. He is one of the founding teachers of The Red Badge Project, a collaboration with actor Tom Skeritt that uses the power of storytelling to help veterans process trauma. He’s given advice for first-year students at the UW, and now he’s giving us some tips and tricks for getting it all done.

Work

Give us a one-word description of how you work.

Creatively.

How do you manage your to-dos?

I write them down in a notebook, then try and remember where I put the notebook.

What are your essential apps, software or tools?

Word, Google, the New York Times

What is your best time-saving shortcut?

I work in my office rather than at home.

What are some of your productivity strategies you’ve honed over your years in academia?

Though it takes more time, I prefer to meet face-to-face with my students rather than send them an email so that we can have a conversation, debate, come to agreement, etc. I like to “see” that they understand something. I think it’s more effective to comment on their writing in person rather than write notes in the margin that they might not read. Also, I like my students to work collaboratively on almost everything from writing papers, doing research and even taking exams.

Life

What mundane thing are you really exceptional at?

Housecleaning.

What are you currently reading for pleasure?

Novels written by friends of mine (so I don’t have to lie to them anymore about having read their books).

What’s the last thing that made you laugh?

My son’s concept of the world.

How do you recharge?

I own a 1968 Plymouth Roadrunner muscle car.

Inspiration

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

My mentor, the American writer Kay Boyle, told me, “Writing is about belief.”

Who’s your support system?

My family.

What pitfall do you consistently see students falling into?

Choosing a path that they aren’t committed to, or choosing a path that’s chosen by their parents or someone else.

What do your most successful students do?

They find a path that satisfies their heart and their mind.

How UW Works was inspired by LifeHacker’s How I Work.

Did you enjoy this series? Check back Wednesdays during the Spring quarter for the latest mid-week motivation! While you wait, you can read more in this series, nominate a student or professor to be featured, or answer the questions yourself! (Students should answer the questions via this form; faculty should use this form. If you prefer to answer the questions over email, drop us a line at gradnews@uw.edu).

Tips for Postdocs from National Postdoc Association Meeting

On March 18-19, 2017, leadership from OPA and UWPA participated in the 15th Annual National Postdoc Association meeting in San Francisco. Three members from the Fred Hutch Student and Postdoc Advisory Committee also attended, and a postdoc from  Center for Infectious Disease Research (CIDR) so Seattle was well-represented! There were many good working sessions and an opportunity to learn from our peer institutions and other postdoc-led organizations.  Here are just a few insights for postdocs gathered from the meeting – we will be sharing more in the coming weeks.

  • Seek experiences outside your primary research group. Peter Fiske, plenary speaker and consultant/entrepreneur, advised spending as much as 20% of your time exploring other resources and experiences on and off campus.  Academic training is good at providing deep expertise, and yet “you have a keel without a boat”. PhDs have a tremendous amount to offer, but need more experience in adaptability, collaborative problem-solving, leadership to be successful in future careers, in and outside academia.
  • All jobs come through relationships. Expand your network. Networking is about genuine relationships created through shared interests or connections; it is not about shallow schmoozing with dozens.  Use your existing network of peers and advisors to connect you.  Ask for help. Join our UW Postdoc LinkedIn group as one starting point, and seek out other online spaces (including Twitter) where your professional societies or disciplines connect.
  • Know your rights. As a pregnant postdoc, you have federal protections under the ADA and Title IX.  We will do a separate blog post on this to clarify rights of pregnant and parenting postdocs.  One national survey showed only 40% of pregnant postdocs requested some kind of accommodation during pregnancy (e.g. modifying schedules, avoiding lifting, limiting toxic exposures, etc.) as compared to 70% in other sectors. You need to ask – it is a protected right!
  • Build your Mentoring Plan: We heard advice from the NSF program officers that the culture is changing for postdocs from an apprenticeship model (where you learn by doing and watching) to professional training model.  Be explicit with your research advisor about the time you want to spend on professional development, how and why. And build your mentoring team also, so you have a broader base of input to guide your career development.
  • Include Work/Life Balance in your IDP. Resilience is coping with, bouncing back from, and adapting to difficult situations – and academic life is full of them. Resilience requires we invest in ourselves and the things that renew or sustain us. Set goals and milestones for dimensions of the “wellness wheel” that are important for you now (e.g. financial, physical, nutritional, relational, spiritual…).  Schedule yourself on your calendar to make sure these things happen.
  • Make your dollars go further. Apply for travel awards through professional societies and foundations. Ask your PI or department to match what you bring in.  Seek external sponsors for events you want to hold (e.g. donating pizza to a lunch gathering). Consult with the librarian who researches funding sources and can advise you on tailoring your searches (at UW it is the Graduate Funding Information Service).
  • Culture Fit: If you are considering a position, how do you find out about the organizational culture there? Culture goes beyond stated vision and values to daily practices, and how people engage with each other. Culture is “the way we do things around here”. Ask a range of people about it during your interviews and site visits. Also, do the self-reflection and assessment work to learn what is most important to you in a workplace culture (what makes you happy and productive?). Do your research and ask yourself: Will you thrive, personally and professionally in the organizational culture?

And don’t forget that all UW postdocs, faculty, and staff are eligible for a free membership with NPA because UW is a sustaining institutional member.  You get access to resources behind their firewall and also connected with their networks. Please email OPA if you are interested in the affiliated membership from NPA.

When Is It Time to Move On?

A postdoc experience is often a leap of faith.  You might make decisions about what’s next for you after your doctoral program based on need, opportunity, ambition, passion, interest, or a combination of these factors.  Once you land a postdoc position, you will learn different things about yourself, and certainly you will also learn things about your research group that were not always clear through the interview process.

With this newsletter, we pose the question – when is it time to move on? There are numerous factors to consider, but the main thing to know is: it is healthy to ask this question, regardless of your current experience (whether 6 months or 6 years into your postdoc).

Is It Time to Change Groups?

  • Are you getting the opportunities for growth and experience that are important for your next career steps? It is not uncommon for a PI to hire a postdoc because of a skillset they bring to the group.  This is a good thing; but, if you are simply reproducing skills and experiences from your graduate research, you are not growing. You are just working.  A postdoc should be both – work and professional growth.
  • Are you in a mentoring or work environment where you can flourish? Postdocs have diverse needs when it comes to mentoring and work environments.  Learn more about your own needs and seek an environment, a mentor, and a research group that provides the experience you need to become your best.
  • What about letters of recommendation? If you truly have a difficult relationship with a PI, you will likely be concerned about the kind of letter of recommendation they will provide. This is among the reasons we often advocate for building a mentoring team, or a deeper bench of supervisors and researchers who can speak for you. Develop your own succinct, dispassionate narrative of what happened with a given faculty advisor if the relationship has truly broken down and you feel you cannot trust a letter from them. You can think about core elements that are useful to share, such as: I wasn’t getting enough independence in this particular lab group and I need to grow further; we had differences of opinion regarding best directions for the work; I learned a considerable amount but we never connected and it made it difficult to sustain the working relationship… You can make it a positive story – one that emphasizes what you are seeking more than what you are not getting. Regardless of your feelings, it doesn’t look good to future employers if you talk badly about your former supervisor.

Is it Time to Leave Postdoc-ing Behind Altogether?

  • Postdoc experiences are great for building your professional network, gaining more skills and experience, and also doing important self-reflection regarding what kind of career is really going to be meaningful for you.
  • When you’ve garnered enough skills and experience to be competitive, move on! Because of imposter syndrome, some of us may never feel truly ready.  Or myths may circulate about what it takes to be competitive in the job market.  Do your own research on what your field needs, and get feedback from several people about your track record. Hiring committees are comprised of many people and it can help to get diverse perspectives about your strengths and where your gaps may be.
  • Or, after more time in an academic research setting, you may now have enough information to know this isn’t the right trajectory for you.  Maybe for what you want to do next, you don’t need more advanced research training, but instead need to cultivate other skills or experiences. A variety of self-assessment tools can help you identify where your particular interests and skill sets are pointing you, and you may be surprised by the answers.

Whatever your situation, handling yourself professionally through the transitions will go a long way. Asking yourself – am I in the right place, am I getting what I need – is a lifelong practice that will serve you well in finding the best fit in work environment, supervision, and portfolio. And taking a proactive approach will help assure you get what you need. You never know until you ask!  If you need help thinking these issues through, or practicing how a conversation could go with your faculty supervisor, please always feel free to sign up for an office hour or make an appointment with the OPA senior faculty advisors.

Additional Resources:

The grad student’s social media starter pack

Is it really worthwhile for grad students aspiring to academics or industry to have a social media presence? What should my social media presence look like? — Social media un-savvy 
Hi there,
Thanks for reaching out! Ultimately, I think the only answer to this is: it depends. It depends on your schedule, your priorities, your skills, your preferences… It depends on you, and what you want out of your academic journey and future career.
What I can do for you is give you a few ideas of why you might want to start a social media presence and a few arguments in the other direction. I’ll also lay out some tips and resources for starting a social media presence, should you care to do so. I’ll focus on Twitter and LinkedIn, since these are the social media sites used most in the academic and business context.
A few reasons why you might start a Twitter:  

  • Twitter allows you to connect with large communities of academics. This can mean a lot of different benefits: the sharing of resources and strategies for managing your graduate education, the sharing of sources and research ideas, and making connections with others in your field or with similar interests.
  • It’s an excellent opportunity to talk about your research in laypeople’s terms, and engage with a public audience. You might even find a new angle for your research!
  • You can follow discussions that happen at conferences, even if you can’t attend. You could also live-tweet an event, and connect with other people at the same conference.
  • A well-maintained Twitter presence can impress an employer.

A few reasons why you might NOT want a Twitter:

  • It can be a distraction
  • Your schedule is packed: you already have too many obligations to manage
  • Your discipline doesn’t have a large social media presence
  • You don’t enjoy it, even a little bit.

On a side note, starting a Twitter is a big time-commitment: daily updates are the norm. Bear in mind that starting a Twitter and then never using it looks, well, kind of sloppy.  
A few reasons to start a LinkedIn:

  • It’s a great way to advertise your skills, experience and achievements!
  • You can connect with recruiters regarding employment opportunities
  • You can connect with people in your industry, or alumna of your alma mater. Some people use this feature to set up informational interviews, which can make for an excellent networking opportunity.

The reasons for not starting a LinkedIn are similar to those against Twitter. However, a LinkedIn page is much easier to maintain than a Twitter account (Twitter requires daily checking and posting, LinkedIn does not).
I hope this helps you discern whether or not you want to start a Twitter or LinkedIn page. If you’ve decided to jump into the social media waters, good for you! Here are some resources to help you get started.
Twitter:
The 10 Commandments of Twitter for Academics
Social media for academics
10 Great Twitter Chats for Grad Students
Blog post: The Tweeting Grad Student
Academic twitter accounts to check out: Shit Academics Say; Steven R. Shaw; Kate Starbird; Calling Bullshit (run by two UW professors); Clint Smith; Lego Grad Student

LinkedIn:

LinkedIn 101: How to Craft a Stellar Profile
Via UW Professional & Continuing Education: 10 Tips for Supercharging your LinkedIn Profile
LinkedIn for graduate students: how to market yourself on the net (This post is old, and kind of long, but it’s a really comprehensive guide to building a marketing strategy on LinkedIn!)
31 Best LinkedIn Profile Tips for Job Seekers
LinkedIn for Job Seekers: How to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile

Best of luck! And be sure to follow The Graduate School on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @uwgradschool.
Sincerely,
The Grad School Guru

Exploring Career Paths: Strategic Steps Postdocs Can Take

In late May 2016, we have had the opportunity to hear from some exceptional speakers on campus who offered their perspective and insights to postdocs regarding exploration and preparation for careers that will be the best fit for YOU.  We excerpted out the following top tips shared during these workshops from guests Kelly Sullivan of the Pacific Northwest National Labs, Linette Demers from Life Science Washington, Matt O’Donnell, Professor and Dean Emeritus in Engineering, Sumit Basu and Hrvoje Benko from Microsoft Research.

  1. Prepare: “Career planning isn’t so much about planning.  But it is about preparing.” Having a clear roadmap won’t always help you, as it may limit you to opportunities or serendipity when something unexpected arises. Instead, invest in preparing for a range of possibilities – diversify your skill sets, cultivate curiosity, and build your networks.
  2. Assess your skills: What is academic research training you for? In part, academic research training is about asking important research questions, developing and pursuing methods to answer those questions, and using results to define outcomes and your next questions.  You are also learning how to work in teams, how to deliver results, and a full range of transferable skills. Learn to talk about your skills and interests in broader more generalizable terms than perhaps your specific, immediate research project may suggest.
  3. Assess your strengths, passion, work style: Talk with your mentor team, or those who have worked with you and know you, and ask: “what do you think I am uniquely good at?” “What do you see as my top contribution(s) to a team or project?” Use free assessments like those offered by Doug’s Guides to get a better sense of what kind of work environment will be the best fit for you.
  4. Explore what is out there: Your research training alone is not career preparation, even for academic positions.  You have to do something more proactive. Develop your “story” about who you are, what your passions are, and how you want to contribute. What opportunities exist? Ask people: I think your job sounds really interesting. How did you get here? Cultivate an opening question “I’m new to this industry/sector, can you tell me what you do?” Get involved with more than just building technical skills in your laboratory.
  5. Understand impact: Learn what is valued and expected in each kind of organization and work setting. Ask: “what does success or impact look like here in this sector, in this organization”? And then ask yourself – is that metric of success and impact meaningful for me.  Is this how I want to contribute, and where my strengths lie.
  6. Gain experience: All the guests discussed the importance of getting out “there” and developing experience and exposure in other sectors, even for a short stint: giving a talk, participating in seminars/sessions that are open to others outside the organization, doing a short 4-12 week internship. These conversations and experiences will both help you decide what sector feels like a good fit for you, and will help distinguish you if you apply for a job in that sector.

Closing tips from speakers:

  • Do something you care about.
  • Summarize who you are without using your technical expertise as a crutch.
  • Let go of worrying about what you are going to “be” – focus more on problems you are passionate about. Follow your curiosity and passion.
  • Spend 5% of your time looking for a new job, even while happy in your current one.
  • Develop relationships. They will take you places and open doors, and make your career worthwhile.
  • Be kind, and humble.  Be realistic about your limitations and acknowledge the contributions of others.

Power Skill of the Month: Pivot. Popularized in the start-up culture, “pivot” describes the ability to drop an unproductive direction or assess signs that suggest that the direction you are pursuing is not going to bear fruit.  Having the ability to pivot to a new direction, release a direction that isn’t panning out, and move on with greater energy and opportunity is key regardless of what field or sector you may work in.

Originally posted on June 2, 2016.

Talking with Faculty About Diverse Careers

Spring quarter is full for everyone, and we also know that many of you are in different stages of reflecting on your career goals.  You may be thinking about what you want to do upon degree completion, starting an internship, preparing application materials, or deepening your expertise in a job you already have.  Throughout this process, some of you have asked: “How do I initiate a conversation my faculty advisor(s) about my professional goals?”

Do your research.  It can be anxiety-provoking to think about approaching your faculty advisor or mentor about your career interests, especially if those interests diverge from you becoming research faculty at a college or university.  One of the best ways to initiate a conversation with your advisor is to be prepared beforehand.  Here are some tips to help you gather the baseline information you need for that conversation:  Assess your work-related interests, strengths, and values to develop a more holistic awareness of who you are as a professional.  Utilize the UW Career Center’s comprehensive guide on building resumes and cvs, career advice, interviewing, and job searching. Understand how the skills you are developing in graduate school are indeed transferable across fields and industries.  Peruse job postings (and volunteer opportunities) that resonate with your self-assessments, whether they are based in non-profit, industry, or government sectors.  Research professional associations affiliated with the fields you are interested in, and contact their members via their websites or LinkedIn.  Set up informational interviews with individuals from professional associations, or with employees from companies and organizations that you can imagine yourself working at–to grow your networks.

Get in the habit of career planning over time.  The strategies noted above are part of a larger process of intentional career planning.   This is a lot of work, but well worth the effort.  Intentional career planning is necessary, if you want to move forward in both knowing and reaching your professional goals.  Break your goals up into smaller tasks, and work on them for 30 min. to an hour each week. You will move forward one step at a time, rather than trying to tackle it all at once.

Develop and bring materials with you.  When you do talk with your faculty advisor, you can bring a simple one page proposal of the career exploration you are engaged in, including sources you are researching and near-term plans for learning more about different options.

Prepare for different responses.  You may reach out to one faculty advisor or several.  In fact, we encourage you to meet with more than one mentor on your team to widen your potential for support.  Practice role playing scenarios with a trusted colleague or friend, where you engage in a conversation about your career interests.   Ask your friend to mimic the most unsupportive response to the most supportive response.  Utilize these mock responses to gauge what your next steps will be.  For example, maybe you find out your advisor has no interest in talking about diverse career opportunities with you but is still fully supportive of your intellectual and technical growth as it pertains to your discipline only.  Whom else can you identify (within or outside of your mentoring team) that will advocate for your need to explore diverse career paths?

Help your advisor help you.  It is highly likely that your faculty advisor was trained to be a teacher and researcher first and foremost, so they may not have the experience to guide you in exploring diverse career pathways.  Share with them your knowledge of all the professional development resources you are accessing (networking, professional associations, social media, UW Career Centers, etc.).  Forward them information about campus events, such as job fairs, the Core Programs community college careers panel, or workshops sponsored by the Career Center like How to Find a Job Outside of Academia for Humanities and Social Sciences PhDs.  By doing this, you’ll be facilitating a reciprocal learning process about your professional development with your advisor.

All right, we’re totally rooting for you!  Please feel free to follow up with us, and let us know if these strategies worked for you.  And let us know if you have other suggestions.

Warmly,
Jaye Sablan, Kelly Edwards, Ziyan Bai
Core Programs, UW Graduate School

Postdocs, You Are Public Thought Leaders!

You have ideas what you are passionate about, and you have spent years cultivating expertise. Now, how do you get your voice heard? How can you work to advance the issues? How can you influence change?

In mid-April, the Office of Postdoc Affairs co-hosted a workshop from the OpEd Project, a national effort to diversify the voices we hear in public conversations. The facilitator Michele Weldon has 3 decades as a public thought leader through her books, articles, and media work. Certain key points stood out from the workshop:

  • Own your expertise. You are an expert in _____ because ______. What are you a go-to person for? On what basis do you have credibility in this area? Own it, even if it feels there are others around you who are more established, more credentialed, more famous. We need YOUR voice and perspective in the world for real impact to occur.
  • Personal promotion isn’t self-serving (only), it is working toward public service. That is, you aren’t just “tooting your own horn” when you say your voice matters, you are bringing attention to issues that are critical to you.  The bigger your sphere of influence the greater impact for change you can have. Reframe your approach to self-promoting activities like tweeting, blogging, writing pieces for public audiences/radio spots to building your sphere of influence for issues you care about. And, as a result, you distinguish yourself in what may be a crowded field.
  • “If you say things of consequence, there will be consequences. But the risk and alternative is to be inconsequential.” (OpEd Project saying) Anticipate nay-sayers. As you practice your response to those who will say “who cares” and “why you”, you can be ready to stand your ground with calm, clear and respectful confidence. Sometimes these doubting voices come from within our own heads. Practice saying the same calm, confident response back when that voice of self-doubt or imposter syndrome rises up. #OwnIt
  • Make a pitch to an editor. Craft a tight 4-5 sentence email that showcases the following:  So what? Why you? Why now? What’s the contribution?  Why this outlet? And then sign it with your full name and affiliations. Then cut/paste your 600-800 essay right below that (no attachments).  Editors are busy and they want to scan what you have, not take an extra step to ask for it.   You can use a descriptive email subject line: Timely commentary on ______.

We know that peer reviewed publications are still the coin of the realm as far as your own academic career goes. But how do you get people to read your peer reviewed publications? How can they make the kind of impact you’d like? Amplify your work by pairing peer-reviewed publications with pieces you write for the public conversation or using social media to get your work in front of more people in your professional networks.  Many postdocs have created their own professional websites to gather together examples of their research and engagement activities, to reflect more of who they are. Websites, coupled with social media, can expand your reach and help you stand out from others in a job search or otherwise crowded space. See Future of Ice Initiative postdoc Sarah Myhre’s website as a terrific example of this, and check out how she features both peer reviewed research and news media highlights. Have a good example of your own?  Send it to us, we want to feature it in an upcoming newsletter!

Write to Change the World.

Additional Resources:

 

Originally posted on April 21, 2016.

Exploring Careers the Non-Linear Way

Career pathways are often viewed as linear. An imagined life scenario goes something like this: You go to college, get your first job, earn a promotion, get a graduate degree, move up the ladder to your dream job, secure that dream job, then happily retire–all within a few decades and all within the same company or organization. However, industry trends and professionals in our networks have increasingly told us a different story: before, throughout and beyond graduate school, people are following career trajectories that are non-linear and often include, various work experiences and projects that not only enhance the skillsets they already had as graduate students, these experiences allowed them to acquire new sets of tools to pursue their passions.

As you plan ahead, we encourage to think expansively about your professional endeavors. Instead of asking yourself, “What job title do I want to have?,” ask yourself, “What work experiences do I want?”

Here a few tips to get you started:

Managing social expectations. Social messages can impact the career choices we make now and into the future. These messages have the potential to tell us who we “should” be and come from our families, peers, broader community, and an array of institutions around us–this even includes the UW. Sometimes external messages do resonate with our professional endeavors and that’s great! When the messages don’t align with your goals, it’s perfectly okay to take a step back and reflect on your values and strengths in order to switch gears and create roadmaps to do work that excites you, or at least piques your interest.

Flexibility. One skill you’re amazing at in graduate school is being flexible. You’re adept at juggling multiple campus, work and personal responsibilities. Take advantage of your ability to be flexible and remain open to opportunities that provide you with a range of professional experiences. (1) Volunteer a few hours a week (or per month) at a local non-profit and see if your passion lies there. (2) Learn more about a specific job or work culture by arranging a job shadow. (3) If internships or practicum aren’t part of your degree requirements, but you’d like (paid or unpaid) work experience, seek out internship opportunities that work with your schedule. All of these experiences have the potential to broaden your professional networks. And wider networks increase the likelihood of successful job searches and setting up interviews. Volunteering, interning and job shadowing can also help you rule-out options based on first-hand experience, and this frees you up to explore other paths.

Do versus be. Rather than focus on who you want to be (e.g. a person with a static job title), think of the contributions you want to make in your community, with your peers, to your family. How you work is also important. Can you bring your authentic self (values, strengths, ethics) to work? Are you able to start your day from a place of integrity–regardless of whether you’re in an entry-level position or higher? Does doing the work involve more positive stress than negative stress? Is there room to face challenges that will help you grow professionally? Focusing on contributions, rather than job titles, can help you think more broadly about how work can be meaningful to you.

Failing forward. Doing what you love is an iterative process, not without trial and error. Don’t be afraid to take risks, but don’t be careless about the risks you take. Have a new project idea? Share it with colleagues, especially if you notice gaps or issues not already being addressed in your field. Start with a soft launch, on a smaller scale. If your project doesn’t produce the results you imagined, ask yourself the following questions: What went well? What can I learn from this? What would I do differently? Focus on the process and then move forward, and keep challenging yourself to grow.

Best,

Kelly, Jaye & Ziyan
Core Programs Team

Negotiating Salary and Your Start-Up Package

In February 2016, the UW Career Center convened a panel of recently hired faculty members to share their perspectives on how to negotiate salary in pursuing an academic career. Here are some highlights from the workshop:

Top Tips:

  • (Almost) Always negotiate.
  • Check your attitude (you want to aim for humble-confident).
  • Think broadly. Beyond just salary, there are moving expenses, set up costs, teaching load, professional development funds, staff support, and etc.
  • You can’t get it all, but ask yourself: What will help me be a happy, productive faculty member? What are the deal breakers?

Before Asking:

  • Frame your thinking and communications as a faculty member, not as an aspiring graduate student or postdoc grasping for a position.
  • Think hard about what you want (what kind of position). Understand fit. What kind of institution are you looking for? What kind of institutional culture?  What kind of experience do you want as a professor? What is possible to ask for within the kind of institution in which you are applying?
  • Do your research. Know what the salary range is for your discipline and type of institution. Know what you can ask for. In order to do this, you can talk with your network, e.g. people who have gotten positions in the last 3-4 years. This helps you know what to expect.

When to Ask?

  • Never give the first number, even if they ask. Do not talk about salary until you get a job offer.
  • Do not respond right away after receiving the offer of salary. Let it sit for at least 24 hours.

What to Ask?

  • Ask for what you need to be successful. Negotiation implies give and take.
  • Things to ask for: Remember to tie all asks back to your productivity and impact.
    • Salary. Consider cost of living in the city, hard money/soft money split – how long before you need to bring in more of your own salary.
    • Summer support. Justify it as research/productivity time. It is easier to give since it is a one-time commitment.
    • Moving costs. You can get estimates for your move and negotiate for higher amount – usually institutions have set amount whether you move from near or far.
    • Tech, grant, and/or teaching support.
    • Travel and development. As junior person, you might need to ask for 2 conferences in first 3 years as you build your network and your position.
    • Reduced teaching load. How many preps do you want each year (new courses)?
    • TA or RA support
  • Make sure you have what you want at the end of the negotiation.

How to Ask?

  • Be honest, have integrity. Don’t “BS” – people can see through that.
  • Be gracious in the way you ask.
  • Remember humility – you deserve to be treated well (but not better than) all the other faculty.
  • Tie your requests back to how it will facilitate your contributions and success as a faculty member – you are not asking to be selfish, you are asking because you want to make good on the investment they are making in YOU.

What if…?

  • You receive multiple offers.
    • Be honest. Never misrepresent. Keep in mind these are your colleagues who will be in your national network.
    • You can always ask – if you haven’t heard from top choice yet, you can ask where you are in the process because you have another offer.
    • Be gracious in asking for more information, and for more time. Search Committees take time, the whole process takes time. E.g. “I have an offer from another institution, but I would be very interested in hearing from you.”
  • You are moving with your partner who is also pursuing academic career.
    • Don’t start asking right away – it can create a barrier.
    • You want to be honest. You want to be upfront.  But think about when to say it.
    • Certain states have “anti-nepotism laws” – strict rules about having relatives be in potential positions of power over each other.  Or resource constraints. Research institutional culture/practices – some institutions can be very helpful.
    • Sometimes they find “options”, but they are not options that are desirable for your career.
    • Sometimes you can ask for career services for your spouse.

Things to Bear in Mind:

  • When negotiating, you are starting the beginning of a long term relationship. You want to start on the right foot.  Be objective, be fair, look for a win-win solution (see Steven Convey).  A teaching institution won’t be able to provide a Research I lab space. Know the context in which you are asking.
  • Don’t take it personally. When they throw a number out, don’t get excited or offended. Look at the range you know they use.  It sets your starting point and you move from there. Do not agree on anything right away.
  • Putting your best self forward in negotiation. Word will get around about the “ridiculous” things you are asking for, or how unreasonable, or difficult you’ve been.
  • You have to communicate your sense of value.  But not your value as “better than everyone else”.  Be confident but humble.
  • If you give up too much, it also creates a lesser If you agree too quickly, you are not perceived as strong.  You may end up resenting what others have.

Resources:

  • Check university websites for benefit packages.
  • Check with your professional society, or with publicly available databases to find out appropriate salary ranges for your field or the institution. Keep in mind years of experience will count.
  • Career Center resource on Academic Career: Salary Negotiation
  • Julia Miller Vick & Jennifer S. Furlong. (2008). Academic Job Search Handbook.
  • Linda Babcock & Sara Laschever. (2009). Ask for It: How Women Can Use Power of Negotiation to Get What They Really Want.

Acknowledgement to the panelists:
Dr. Thelma Madzima, Faculty in Biology, UW Bothell
Dr. Hala Annabi, Faculty in iSchool, UW Seattle
Catherine Basl, UW Career Center

 

Originally posted on February 11, 2016.